Piling attachment for hydraulic vibratory compactor

ABSTRACT

The invention of a hydraulic clamp which attaches to an excavator mounted vibratory compactor for installing and removing piling. The invention is composed of a clamp which attaches to the bottom of the vibratory compactor, a valve body for maintaining the grip and center mount adapters which fasten to the top of the vibratory compactor.

FIELD OF INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to the construction industry. Morespecifically the installation and removal of sheet piling and otherdriven elements into the ground whether it be pipe piling, H columns.

PRIOR ART

[0002] The use of for excavator mounted hydraulic vibratory compactorsis a common method for driving and extracting sheet piling. The use ofthe vibratory compactors although effective are quite inefficient intheir delivery of the driving energy from the vibrator plate to thedriven element. The use of the excavator mounted hydraulic vibratorycompactors for extraction present a great deal of problems in their use.They are terribly inefficient in delivery of energy to extract thedriven element without welding or otherwise making a solid connectionfrom the vibratory driver plate to the driven element. The currentmethod for attaching the excavator mounted hydraulic vibratorycompactors to the base carrier is employed with the compactor mounted attwo pin points on the dipper. One at the bucket pivot point and theother at the bucket cylinder point. This connection when drivingelements creates twisting forces into the driven element unless constantcorrections are made in the angle of the compactor on the dipper. Nodevice is known which incorporates all the elements of the sheet pilingclamp attachment for excavator mounted hydraulic vibratory compactors.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Claims:

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide an attachmentto existing excavator mounted hydraulic vibratory compactors. Thisattachment will create a solid connection between the vibratory plate ofthe excavator mounted hydraulic vibratory compactor and the drivenelement.

[0005] There are 4 claims to this patent application;

[0006] I. a modification of the attachment section of existing hydrauliccompactors from a two pin attaching method to a single pin attachingmethod;

[0007] II. The clamp plate which is bolted to the bottom of thehydraulic compactor which fastens to sheet piling;

[0008] III. The Pilot activated full flow check valves which areintroduced between the excavator and the hydraulic cylinder on the clampplate as the prime method for holding pressure in the hydrauliccylinder.

[0009] IV. The addition of the accumulator to compensate for pressureloss as vibration is induced into the sheet to be driven or extracted.

I. Center Mount for Hydraulic Compactor

[0010] The center mounts placed on the excavator mounted hydrauliccompactor corrects several problems in using excavator mounted hydraulicvibratory compactors for driving sheet piling:

[0011] a. The center mounting allows the vibratory compactor to remainin alignment to the driven element at all times by virtue of the singlepoint pivot and thru the connection created by the clamp.

[0012] b. The use of the center point pivot frees up the use of thebucket cylinder circuit on the hydraulic excavator for use in applyingthe hydraulic pressure for the actuation of the hydraulic clamp.

II. The Clamp Plate

[0013] The clamp plate which bolts to the base plate on the bottom ofthe hydraulic vibratory compactor is the actual work piece of theinvention. This is the point which engages the element to be driven andacts as the conduit to transfer effectively the vibration into thedriven element.

[0014] a. The solid connection created by the hydraulic clamp allows thevibratory compactor in impart it's full energy into the driven elementfor both driving and extracting.

[0015] b. The solid connection minimized distortion into the top of theelement being driven.

[0016] c. The solid connection created by the hydraulic clamp creates amuch safer method in that personal are not required to attach or removewelds or manually installed fasteners for attaching the driven elementto the vibratory compactor.

III. The Pilot Activated Check Valves

[0017] The pilot operated check valves in the hydraulic circuit create apositive sop for any pressure lose which may arise from leakage thru thespool valve in the buck circuit in the hydraulic excavator on which theexcavator mounted hydraulic vibratory compactor is mounted on. Duringthe driving process, the priority flow of the hydraulic system isdirected towards the vibratory compactor. The use of the pilot activatedcheck valves act as a further safety element in holding pressure in theevent of any failures in the hydraulic system of the hydraulicexcavator.

IV. The Accumulator

[0018] The introduction of the accumulator into the piling attachmentfor the hydraulic vibratory compactor serves several purposes and needs:

[0019] a. As vibratory force is applied to the driven element, inaddition to the force applied by the ram in the clamp itself, the drivenelement will deform to fit the contour of the clamp ram. The accumulatorwill compensate for any loss in pressure to the hydraulic cylinder inthe clamp assembly. As the priority flow of the hydraulic excavator willbe directed towards energizing the vibratory compactor, the operatorwill not be able to maintain pressure on the clamp. This dictates theneed for the accumulator.

[0020] b. The accumulator further acts as another safety feature in thatit will maintain positive force on the ram in the clamp plate until adefinite action on the part of the excavator operator to releasepressure on the clamp.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021]FIG. 1:

[0022] This drawing shows the overall concept of the invention with theclamp attachment bolted to the bottom of the vibratory compactor and theinstallation of the center pin mounts on top of the vibratory compactor.The center mount pin plates (a) (further info see FIG. 5) are welded tothe top of the existing mounting plates (B) on the vibratory compactor.This location will present no conflicts with the existing mountingmethod of the vibratory compact. The mounting of the hydraulic vibratorycompactor in this center mount configuration will allow the vibratorycompactor to remain plumb by virtue of the center mount. The clamp plate(C) is bolted to the bottom of the hydraulic vibratory compactor bydrilling holes which correspond to the holes in the clamp plate andplacing bolts thru them. The accumulator is mounted where possible, (E)on the hydraulic vibratory compactor, actual location is not aconsideration. The check valves (d) also are located on the hydraulicvibratory compactor, again location is not critical so long as there arenot conflicts with hydraulic hose routing.

[0023]FIG. 2:

[0024] This drawing provides a schematic of the hydraulic systememployed by the clamp attachment. The use of the center mount pin inFIG. 1 removes the necessity to mount the vibratory driver to the bucketpin and frees up the use of this circuit for the application of theclamp functions. The pilot activated check valves will only allowmovement of the clamp when there is positive pressure from the excavatorfor either engaging the clamp or for releasing the clamp. Theaccumulator below the check valves allows the hydraulic cylinder in theclamp mechanism to maintain positive pressure on the driven element tocounteract any deflection in the driven element in the clamp jaws asvibration is induced by the vibratory compactor. The monitoring line isplumbed back to the cab of the excavator and attached to a gauge so thatthe operator can monitor the pressure on the clamp at all times;

[0025]FIG. 3:

[0026]FIG. 3 is a cross section of the clamp attachment. The majorcomponents are the base plate (B), the counterweight (A), the stationaryjaw (C), the Jaw opening (C1), the ram or moveable jaw (D), the ramhousing (D1), the hydraulic cylinder (E), and the cylinder housing (F).

[0027] The purpose of the components are as follows:

[0028] A). Counterweight helps maintain a center of gravity at the jawopening

[0029] B). Base plate acts as a platform for the hydraulic cylinder andthe jaws and provides the vehicle for fastening the clamp to thehydraulic vibratory compactor.

[0030] C). The stationary jaw acts as a point to restrain the drivenelement that is pushed by the ram(D)

[0031] C1). The Jaw opening, where the driven element is placed to beengaged by the ram;

[0032] D). The ram is the working part that engages the driven element

[0033] D1), The ram housing retains the ram against the baseplate,

[0034] D2). The hydraulic cylinder is attached to the ram by thisthreaded connector which is threaded into a female threaded opening inthe rod of the hydraulic cylinder and is held to the ram by slots weldedto the back of the ram

[0035] E). The hydraulic cylinder, creates the force to push the ramagainst the driven element.

[0036] F). The cylinder housing, acts to hold the hydraulic cylinder inplace and also acts as a guard for the hydraulic cylinder.

[0037]FIG. 4:

[0038]FIG. 4 shows the same attributes as FIG. 3 except from a top view;

[0039]FIG. 5;

[0040]FIG. 5 shows the center mount plates (a) which are welded to thetop of the hydraulic vibratory compactor. The hole (b) is cut to suitthe pin diameter of the hydraulic excavator which the hydraulicvibratory compactor is mounted on;

The present invention is to provide an attachment to existing excavatormounted hydraulic vibratory compactors. This attachment will create asolid connection between the vibratory place of the excavator mountedhydraulic vibratory compactor and the driven element. there are 2 claimsfor this patent application:
 1. A modification of the attachment sectionof the existing hydraulic compactors from a two pin attaching method toa single pin attaching method.
 2. The clamp plate which is bolted to thebottom of the hydraulic compactor which fastens to the driven element 3.The pilot activated full flow check valves which are introduced betweenthe excavator and the hydraulic cylinder on the clamp plate as the primemethod for holding pressure on the hydraulic cylinder of the clamp. 4.The addition of the accumulator to compensate for pressure loss asvibration is induced into the driven element.
 1. Center Mount forHydraulic Compactor: The center mounts placed on the excavator mountedhydraulic compactor corrects several problems in using excavator mountedhydraulic compactors for driving sheet piling: a: The center mountingallows the vibratory compactor to remain in alignment to the drivenelements at all times by virtue of the single point pivot and thru theconnection created by the clamp. This over comes many of the drawbacksof using excavators who's movements are in arc's. b. The use of thecenter point pivot frees up the use of the bucket cylinder circuit onthe hydraulic excavator for use in applying the hydraulic pressurerequired for the actuation of the hydraulic clamp.
 2. The Clamp Plate:The clamp plate which bolts to the base plate on the bottom of thehydraulic vibratory compactor is the actual work piece of the invention.This is the point which engages the element to be driven and acts as theconduit to transfer effectively the vibration into the driven element.a. The solid connection created by the hydraulic clamp allows thevibratory compactor to impart it's full energy into the driven elementfor both driving and extracting. b. The solid connection minimizesdistortion into the top of the element being driven or extracted. c. Thesolid connection created by the hydraulic clamp creates a much safermethod in that personnel are not required to attach or remove welds ormanually installed fasteners for attaching the driven element to thevibratory compactor for either driving or extracting piling elements. 3.The pilot activated check valves: The pilot operated check valves in thehydraulic circuit create a positive stop for any pressure loss which mayarise from leakage thru the spool valve in the bucket circuit in thehydraulic excavator on which the excavator mounted hydraulic vibratorycompactor is mounted on. During the driving process, the priority flowof the system is directed towards the vibratory compactor. The use ofthe pilot activated check valves act as a further safety element inholding pressure in the event of any failures in the hydraulic system ofthe hydraulic excavator.
 4. The Accumulator The introduction of theaccumulator into the piling attachment for the hydraulic vibratorycompactor serves several purposes and needs: a. As the vibratory forceis applied to the driven element, in addition to the forces applied bythe ram in the clamp itself, the driven element will deform to fit thecontour of the clamp ram for the introduction of the vibratory forcesafter the clamp is actuated onto the driven element. The accumulatorwill compensate for any loss in pressure to the cylinder in the clampassembly from any deformation induced by the vibration. As the priorityflow of the hydraulic excavator will be directed towards energizing thevibratory compactor, the operator will not be able to maintain pressureon the clamp. This dictates the need for the accumulator. b. Theaccumulator further acts as another safety feature in that it willmaintain positive force on the ram in the clamp plate until a definiteaction on the part of the excavator operator to release the pressure onthe clamp.